4. Victor

Victor

M y name on her lips made me start, and I realized I was fang-deep in her thigh. Her blood flowed like sweet nectar, each pulse singing through my veins. I groaned and withdrew, horror replacing desire as reality crashed in.

"I'm sorry," I said, the words falling like stones. "I'm so sorry."

"Victor," she breathed. "That was amazing."

"No, no." I tried to back away, still kneeling between her legs, but Ari pushed up on her elbows. Her eyes darted from my face to her thigh with its twin punctures, then back to me. There was no fear in her gaze—only curiosity.

I turned my face away. "I'm sorry."

"Look at me," she insisted, reaching for me. "Did you cut me?"

I backed away from her hand.

She sat full up and grabbed my face, turning me to face her. Her fingers wiped the blood from my lips, and she frowned.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "I said I wouldn't do anything without your consent and I bit you and I'm …" I looked at her. "I'm sorry."

Without hesitation, she pressed her thumb against my upper lip, exposing my fangs. "You're a vampire."

I blinked at her. How could she be reacting this calmly?

"You are." She nodded to herself. Then she turned back to me and held me by the sides of my face. "I trust you. I told you that before."

"But I put my fangs in you…"

"I'm expecting you to put a whole lot more than that in me," she said, with a heated gaze toward my still hard cock.

"I should have asked," I said, and I rubbed a bit of my saliva over the cut on her thigh to seal it. "And I hurt you."

She shook her head. "I'm not hurt. I was surprised, but I'm okay."

"But-"

Ari pressed her fingers to my lips. "I still care about you. I still want you." She laid back down, tugging me with her so I was on top. "Make love to me, Victor."

That was all I needed to hear. I just couldn't say no to this woman.

I kissed her and our bodies molded together. Reaching between us, I found her words true. She was wet and ready for me, and it was enough to send passion roaring through me again.

"Are you sure?" I asked, stroking her hair back from her face.

"Yes," she said.

Then I pushed up on one arm and slid into her, enjoying the feel of her warmth wrapped around me. The intimacy that followed felt deeper, charged with new understanding. Our bodies moved together in ancient rhythm, and I watched wonder and desire play across her face. This wasn't just sex anymore—it was acceptance, trust, the first taste of something eternal.

"Harder, faster," she pleaded.

I didn't need any more encouragement. We met and parted over and over again, until the ecstasy of orgasm rolled over us. She came under me, and the feel of her squeezing me, pushed me over the edge and I came with her.

Afterwards, she laid in my arms and I just gazed at her in wonder.

"We didn't use a condom," she said softly. "Does it matter?"

"I'm clean," I assured her. "Our manager insists on regular testing."

"I'm not on birth control," she said, her cheeks flushing and a question in her eyes.

"Not possible for my kind," I said, suddenly feeling my heart sink. "Is that a problem?"

She smiled. "One date and you're already thinking long term?"

"I care about you, Ari," I said. "If you can accept…" I gestured to my fangs. "Then I want you for as long as you'll have me."

"I grew up in foster care," she said. "If babies are in our future, there are plenty who need a loving home."

"Does that mean you care about me too?" I asked. My emotions were super heightened as Basil said they would be, and I didn't want to scare her by bringing up the L word too early.

She grinned. "Yes, Victor, I do."

We made love twice more before the sun was due to rise. Then I had one of my guys drive her home, and I retreated to my hotel room. Even if she knew what I was, I wasn't sure she was ready to see me die for the day.

***

The next night, I invited her to the band's Halloween party and told her she could bring a friend.

I waited in the hotel lobby, adjusting my cravat for the tenth time. The Halloween party's bass thrummed through the ornate ceiling of the Century Hotel. Basil's warning echoed in my mind: "A human girlfriend knowing about you is one thing. Exposing her to everything at once is another."

When Ari walked through the revolving door, my breath caught. She wore a flowing white dress with gossamer wings—an angel stepping into a den of vampires. The irony wasn't lost on me, but something about it felt right. Light and dark, death and life, meeting in the middle.

"Hey," she said softly, pressing a kiss to my cheek. Her eyes sparkled with secret knowledge.

"You look incredible," I said, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"Thanks. You look very... authentic," she teased, taking in my Victorian-style suit.

"Oh my god, the costume is perfect!" her friend gushed. "Very old-school vampire."

Ari and I exchanged a glance, suppressing our smiles.

"You remember Kylie," Ari said, gesturing to her friend.

"Nice to see you again," I said.

"The party's upstairs," I said, leading them toward the elevator. Kylie bounced along beside us, chattering about the decorations in the lobby. The hotel had gone all out in the Halloween theme.

As we ascended, I felt Ari tense beside me. "What's wrong?"

"It's quiet," she said softly as we ascended the elevator. "More than usual."

I squeezed her hand. The band was loud, and there was obviously a party going on upstairs. Was it just my vampire hearing that picked that all up?

The elevator doors opened to reveal the transformed ballroom. Black roses and blood-red ribbons draped every surface, and the chandeliers had been dimmed to cast everything in a seductive glow. The band was set up on stage, and we'd play later in the evening.

I watched Ari's face as she took it all in. Her eyes widened at the elegant crowd, then suddenly narrowed as she caught sight of something across the room. Following her gaze, I saw one of our feeders heading toward the back room, accompanied by Dario. Double shit. I should have warned her about that part.

"Victor," she whispered, gripping my arm. "That woman... her neck?"

The woman's neck was marked with fang bites, and not just one.

"Oh my god, is that Riggs? Can we go say hi?" Kylie exclaimed, completely ignoring our conversation.

At the bar, I saw the slight shine of Riggs' fangs as he smiled at something his companion said.

"Actually," I said, trying to steer them away, but Ari's journalist instincts were already firing. I could see it in the way she scanned the room with new understanding—the too-pale skin of many guests, the careful way they handled their drinks, the back room with its steady stream of visitors.

"The whole band?" she whispered, looking up at me with those clear eyes. "That's why there are no ghosts at all. That's why..." she glanced at the back room again.

"No ghosts?" I asked.

She bit her lip. "This wasn't the way I meant to tell you."

Kylie was drifting away toward the dance floor, so I pulled Ari over to a table near the wall.

"Tell me," I said.

She looked at me with her big blue eyes. "You know how they used to call me Creepy Ari in high school? Do you remember why?"

"You always talked to the walls…" I paused, my thoughts catching up with my words. "Ghosts? You were talking to ghosts?"

"I see dead people, Victor. All the time." To my surprise, she laughed under her breath. "Except… when I'm with you."

"Because I'm a vampire?"

She shrugged. "Honestly I don't know. But I haven't seen a single ghost since we arrived, and I would assume that's because the band… are all vampires?"

I nodded.

"This is actually... kind of fascinating?"

I blinked. "You're not freaked out?"

"Let's just say I'm getting used to supernatural surprises." She squeezed my hand. "But you're explaining everything later."

"Everything," I promised, pulling her closer. "Starting with how incredibly beautiful you look tonight."

A warm blush spread through her cheeks as she leaned into me.

Then a scream cut through the room.

Ari pushed me away. "That's Kylie," she gasped, her eyes sweeping through the room.

Her friend was nowhere in sight, and the rest of the party carried on like normal. The door to the feeder room was ajar, and a terrible feeling swirled in my gut. I cut across the room to it, Ari fast on my heels.

I could hear Basil's voice in my head, "Bad idea bringing your human here. Once she sees the feeder room, she is going to hate you."

In my few years as a vampire, I'd grown to trust Basil completely. Maybe he was right? Was Ari's easy acceptance of who I was just a sham?

I swung open the door to the feeder room, and my fangs instantly elongated. The smell of blood was thick in the air.

"Kylie!" Ari screamed, pushing past me and rushing over to her friend.

Kylie lay on the floor, her wrist splattered with blood where fangs had been ripped out.

Riggs stood over her, his face a mask of bewilderment. Blood – her blood – stained his mouth and chin. His fangs were still extended, but his rock-star confidence had vanished, replaced by something almost childlike in its confusion.

"I don't..." Riggs stammered, taking a stumbling step backward.